


The Merman In The Moon

by velvetjinx



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Falling In Love, Friends With Benefits, Happy Ending, Inspired by Art, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 21:21:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13866255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetjinx/pseuds/velvetjinx
Summary: Bucky meets the perfect guy at his favorite gay bar. Problem is, the guy doesn’t know he’s Bucky’s perfect guy. But is it too late to tell him?





	The Merman In The Moon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TrishArgh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrishArgh/gifts).



> This fic was totally inspired by TrishArgh's [fantastically wonderful art](http://frau-argh.tumblr.com/post/171021578779/the-wonderful-misspaperjoker-and-i-went-on). Thank you for encouraging me to write a fic to go with it!

Bucky looked up at the statue of the merman sitting on the crescent moon and smiled. The ‘Merman In The Moon’ was his favorite gay bar in Brooklyn, and the statue above the door always made him smile. The merman was handsome—with blond hair and gorgeous features, and a hell of a physique to boot. He was strangely lifelike, as though he would, if greeted properly, slide down into the arms of the man who brought him to life. 

Shaking his head at the fleeting thought, Bucky pushed open the door and sauntered into the bar. The loud music hit him as soon as he was inside, and he took a moment for his ears to adjust to the volume before heading towards the bar. He hopped up onto a bar stool and ordered his drink, looking around the bar at the various guys standing around. He wasn’t big on random hookups, but it had been a while and he was pretty open to whatever. 

A guy slid into the stool next to his and Bucky glanced over briefly, then paused and stared at him. The guy noticed Bucky’s attention and raised an eyebrow. 

“Hi?”

“Um, hi?” Bucky replied, flustered. The guy was the exact image of the merman statue, and Bucky wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t dreaming. He bit his lip. “You’re… I mean, you’re not…”

“I’m Steve,” the guy said, holding out his hand.

“Bucky.” Bucky shook the guy’s hand, and took a deep breath. “Look, weird question, but you aren’t… you aren’t the statue from above the door magically come to life, are you?”

Steve stared at him for a moment, before laughing. “Not exactly. I can see why you would be confused though.” He shook his head. “I made that statue, and I might have modeled it on myself.”

“Oh,” Bucky said blushing. “Well that’s not at all embarrassing. I think I should probably go… away.”

He made to get up, but Steve put his hand on Bucky’s arm. “You could go, or you could stay and have a drink with me?”

Bucky blushed even harder, but nodded. “Yeah, that would be cool.” He took a sip of his drink. “So, uh, you’re a sculptor?”

Steve smiled. “Yeah. I mean, I’m usually a fine artist, but I dabble in sculpting. And my usual model dropped out, hence why I had to use myself.”

“It’s, uh, the face is a great likeness.”

“I like to think everything except the tail is pretty true to life,” Steve replied, winking, and oh god if that was true…

Bucky swallowed. “Cool, that’s… cool,” he croaked. 

“So, do you come here a lot?”

“Yeah.” Bucky shrugged. “Usually with friends but they were being losers tonight so I thought I’d just come down by myself.”

“I’m glad you did,” Steve said with a smile, and Bucky’s heart skipped a beat. “So what do you do?”

“I’m a lecturer at NYU,” Bucky replied.

“Oh cool! What do you lecture in?”

“Particle physics.”

“Oh, a brainy type, huh?” Steve teased. “Did I mention that I find attractive guys who are also really smart even more attractive?”

Bucky tried to answer, but his mouth had suddenly gone dry. He took a long sip of his drink. “Um. Is that so?”

“Mhm.” Steve leaned in to murmur in Bucky’s ear. “So what do you say we finish our drinks and get out of here? My place is just around the corner.”

Bucky hesitated. He really wasn’t big on one night stands, but then again, Steve was ridiculously hot. 

“I mean, if I read you wrong…” Steve said slowly but Bucky shook his head.

“You didn’t. I’d like that,” Bucky said, and Steve grinned wickedly.

“Oh, I’m hoping you’ll more than like it.” Steve downed the rest of his drink, and Bucky did the same. “You ready to go?”

Bucky nodded, and they left together onto the snowy New York streets. 

Steve hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that his place was right around the corner, and soon they were inside. Steve closed the door behind them, before pressing Bucky against the wall. He nuzzled Bucky’s cheek, and Bucky turned his head, capturing Steve’s lips with his own. 

They stumbled through to the bedroom, and began to strip each other, with a little too much hurry. Steve popped a button off of Bucky’s favorite shirt, and when Bucky tried to pull Steve’s sweater off it got caught on his nose. Then of course Steve had to be wearing the _tightest jeans known to man_ with a fucking _button fly_. Steve groaned as Bucky fumbled with the buttons, his knuckles pressing against Steve’s hard cock. But eventually the buttons cooperated and Bucky pushed the jeans and Steve’s underwear down in one go. Steve went to step out of them, tripped, and stumbled into Bucky’s arms. 

Steve blushed as he looked up at Bucky. “Um. I’d say I’m not usually this much of a klutz but I’d be lying, so…” he said with a rueful laugh. 

Bucky pulled him up and kissed him, leading him over to the bed and pushing him down onto it. He pulled Steve’s shoes and socks, jeans, and underwear off before taking off his own and crawling onto the bed next to Steve. 

“Hey,” he said, lazily stroking Steve’s cock, and Steve kissed him languidly, before looking down. His eyes widened when he saw Bucky’s cock. 

“Holy shit, Bucky, how do you find pants that fit?” Steve asked with a laugh, and Bucky rolled his eyes, blushing. “I’m serious, fuck, that is… Can I suck you?”

Bucky nodded emphatically. “I’m not gonna say no to that.”

Steve reached towards the bedside cabinet, then grinned. “I’m, uh, not sure that my condoms will fit you.”

Bucky hopped off the bed and took his wallet from his pants, grabbing one of the condoms inside. “Always gotta be prepared,” he said with a laugh, and Steve pulled him back down onto the bed, kissing him deeply.

“I do like that about you.” He plucked the condom from Bucky's fingers and opened it, before rolling it on to Bucky's cock with his mouth. Bucky watched wide eyed as Steve paused halfway down, then grinned around his mouthful before pushing it down the rest of the way. 

Bucky moaned as he felt the head of his cock brush against the back of Steve's throat, and Steve swallowed around him, only gagging a little before pulling back. Bucky hauled him into a kiss. 

“Fuck, that was hot,” Bucky moaned. 

Steve smirked. “Yeah, well, what can I say. I love sucking cock.”

He slid back down Bucky's body and grasped his cock, licking and sucking around the head. He pressed his lips hard over the ridge as he sucked, and Bucky's hips came off the bed. Steve moaned around him, giving him one last lick before looking up at Bucky through those long eyelashes. “I want you to fuck my mouth,” he said quietly, and Bucky's eyes widened. 

“Oh-okay?”

Steve shifted so he was sitting with his back to the headboard, and pulled at Bucky's hips. Bucky straddled Steve, kneeling up and tapping his cock against Steve's lips. Steve smirked before opening his mouth wide, letting Bucky feed his cock inside. Bucky began to thrust his hips gently, not wanting to hurt Steve, but Steve began to moan encouragement, gripping Bucky’s ass tight and pulling him in. Bucky cupped Steve's cheek in his palm and began thrusting deeper, and Steve… Steve just sat there and took it, humming around him. 

Bucky could feel his balls tightening, the need to come growing, and he gasped. “Fuck, Steve, you’re gonna make me come so hard, oh my god.” Steve moaned encouragingly, sliding a hand around Bucky's asscheek to press his fingers against Bucky's hole, and suddenly pleasure overtook him and Bucky came hard with a groan, thrusting deep into Steve's mouth and making him gag. 

He pulled out quickly, as Steve coughed, a line of spit joining his mouth to Bucky's cock. “Shit, sorry!” Bucky said, but Steve shook his head. 

“Don’t be. Fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he croaked. “C’mere.”

Bucky lay on the bed next to Steve, and Steve kissed him deeply, removing the condom from Bucky's cock. He tied it off and threw it in the waste basket beside the bed, then lay back down and nuzzled Bucky's cheek. 

“What do you want?” Bucky asked.

Steve laughed. “So much, but I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna last long after that, fucking turned me on so much, so just your hand on me?”

Bucky licked his hand, then reached down and took hold of Steve's cock, stroking him. Steve’s head dropped onto Bucky's neck, and Bucky could feel each puff of air as Steve panted. Steve began kissing and sucking Bucky's neck as he moaned, and Bucky felt his spent cock twitch at the noises Steve was making. 

“You gonna come for me, Steve?” Bucky asked, and Steve nodded.

“Fuck, oh my god, yeah. Just keep doing that, oh fuck, oh my god, Bucky, I'm gonna come, gonna come, _fuck_!” he cried, and Bucky watched as Steve came in thick stripes over his hand.

Steve pulled back and took hold of Bucky's wrist, bringing his hand up to his mouth and licking off his own come. Bucky bit his lip, and Steve grinned. 

“Fuck, Steve, you are so fucking hot,” Bucky groaned, and Steve kissed him. Bucky could taste Steve, bittersalt on his tongue, and it made him want more. But this was a one night stand—Steve had made that clear. They kissed for a while, and Bucky looked over at his clothes as they lay on a heap on the floor. “I, uh, I guess I’d better go?” he said slowly, and Steve smiled easily. 

“Sure, okay.”

Bucky got up and dressed, and Steve put on his underwear before taking Bucky to the door. 

“I, uh. I had a good time,” Bucky said, and Steve kissed him languidly.

“Me too. I’ll probably see you around?”

“Uh, yeah.” Bucky smiled wanly and made his escape, hailing a cab as soon as he got down to the street. Possibly the best sex of his life with the hottest guy he’d ever met, and he’d probably never see him again.

Shit.

***

Bucky sighed as he looked in his refrigerator. He really had to go grocery shopping, but at the same time didn’t want to just go to his local grocery store for the same old stuff. He wanted something a bit different, and was really craving some fresh olives. 

After some consideration, he headed down to Prospect Market, his favorite farmer’s market in Brooklyn, passing the Merman In The Moon on his way. He hadn’t been back since that night two weeks ago, afraid that he’d run into Steve. He wasn’t sure if he could face him again so soon, mostly because he hadn’t stopped thinking about him since that night. And the problem was…

The problem was he had kinda, somewhere along the line, fallen for Steve a little bit. He was cute, and funny, and great in bed. And he seemed really nice, except for the fact where he didn’t seem to want Bucky past a quick tumble. Which was fine, it was, but Bucky really wished that they could have gotten to know each other a little better. He just felt there was some unfinished business there. 

By the time he reached Prospect Market, his fingers were frozen from the cold. He shivered as the blast of warm air from the aircon unit hit him as soon as he was in the store, and slowly felt himself thaw as he walked around the shelves, basket in hand. 

He was just reaching for a pot of olives when his hand brushed against someone reaching for the same pot. He looked up from under the hood of his sweatshirt and gaped. 

“Steve?”

Steve’s eyes widened. “Uh, Bucky! Hey! How have you been? Not seen you at the bar these last couple of weeks.”

Bucky shrugged. “Been busy. So, uh.” He paused awkwardly. “Yeah, how are you?”

“Can’t complain, I guess.” 

They stood in silence for a few moments, before Bucky huffed out a laugh. “Look, this is ridiculous. You wanna go get a coffee or something?”

Steve frowned. “I don’t know. I’m really not looking for anything serious right now.”

“Jesus, Steve, it’s coffee, not a marriage proposal.”

Steve grinned lopsidedly. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Just let me finish shopping and I’ll meet you at the door?”

“Sounds good,” Bucky replied, relieved. 

He quickly did the rest of his shopping and met Steve at the door, and together they headed back out into the chilly afternoon. As if by mutual agreement they stopped at the first coffee house they came to, and they sat together inside, nursing their coffees. Steve had a ridiculously sugary flavored latte—not that Bucky could say anything. His black coffee was currently filled with five sugars. Steve raised his eyebrows as Bucky poured packet after packet of sugar into the hot, dark liquid. 

“You sure you’ve got enough sugar in that?” he asked, laughing. 

“Probably?” Bucky replied with a grin, and Steve laughed even harder. “So, uh, what have you been working on recently?”

“Some portraits for my portfolio, and a couple of sculptures for an exhibition,” Steve replied. “What about you?”

Bucky shrugged. “Same old, same old. Helping final year and postgrad students figure out their theses and pointing them in the right direction for research. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great when they’re enthusiastic, but some of them just wanna finish now and they’ve kinda lost the will if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Steve paused. “So, uh, you said this was just coffee, but…”

Bucky sighed. “Look, I like you, okay? I think you’re fun, and the sex was great, you know? I just wanna see where this could go.”

“I just… I’m really not looking for a relationship right now,” Steve said slowly. “I got out of one not that long ago, and really it kinda screwed me over.”

 _Shit_. “Yeah, okay. That sucks, but I get it.” Bucky finished his coffee. “Well, I guess I’d better go. It was good to see you again, Steve.” He stood, but as he went to go Steve grabbed his hand.

“I mean, if you want, we could still see each other. I’d like to be friends with you, Bucky. You seem like a really nice guy.”

“You mean friends, or friends with benefits?”

Steve shrugged. “Why not friends with benefits? Like you said, the sex was amazing.”

Bucky frowned, but figured if this was the only way he was going to get Steve, then he was happy with that. He had to be, if the choice was that or walk away completely. “Yeah, okay.”

“Cool! Uh, we should probably exchange numbers?”

Bucky nodded, and they did so. “So, I guess I’ll see you around, then?”

“Yeah. You wanna come over to mine for pizza and movies tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Bucky said, smiling. “That would be cool.”

***

They ended up jerking each other off after the pizza and between movies, and laughed as they cleaned up with the napkins from the pizza place. “Mmm, that was good,” Steve said with a grin as he kissed Bucky briefly. “So, hey, wanna watch another movie with explosions, or something else?”

“You got any classics?”

“Hell yeah! Who do you want, Fred Astaire? Gene Kelly?”

“I like Fred Astaire.”

“How about Top Hat?”

Bucky nodded, and they sat together on the sofa as the movie played. Around the point where Dale was telling Madge that her husband was cheating on her, Bucky felt his eyes close, and before he knew it he was waking up again as the credits rolled, his head on Steve’s shoulder. 

“Fuck, sorry,” he said muzzily, and Steve smiled down at him. 

“Don’t worry about it. You seen it before?”

“Yeah, so I know how it ends.”

“These old movies make it all sound so simple,” Steve said quietly, and Bucky nodded.

“Isn’t that what movies are for? To show us an ideal?”

“I guess.” Steve stretched, and Bucky looked at his watch.

“I guess I’d better go. Thanks for the pizza and movies.”

“No problem. Wanna maybe meet up this week when you don’t have classes and we could do something?”

Bucky nodded. “Sure. I have a break on Tuesdays between eleven and two, we could go for coffee?”

“Sounds great.”

As Bucky headed out onto the street, he sighed. Yeah. Sounded great. 

***

Bucky had hoped that spending more time with Steve would get rid of the feelings he had for him. Unfortunately, the more time they spent together, the more Bucky felt himself falling for Steve, until one day, about two months later, Steve yawned, stretching, and announced,

“So my friend Natasha is thinking about setting me up on a date next weekend, and I don’t know how to get out of it.”

Bucky felt as though his blood had turned to ice. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I mean I’ve told her no time and time again, but she’s pretty much insisting this time.”

Bucky shrugged. “Then you’d better go.” He stood up and picked up his coat. “Anyway, I gotta get back to my apartment. I’ll see you later.”

He ignored Steve’s stuttering behind him and headed out the door. When he got back to his apartment, he couldn’t even remember getting there. He curled up on his sofa, staring at the dark screen of the TV. 

He was in love with Steve.

He had fallen in love with a guy who didn’t even want to date him properly, was only interested in sex with him, and he felt his heart breaking. 

***

Bucky began to withdraw from Steve, fobbing him off whenever he wanted to hang out. He began spending more and more time with his colleagues, and completely avoided the Merman On The Moon, instead going to other bars with his friends. 

After a few weeks, he came home one afternoon to find Steve sitting outside his door, staring at the ground. Bucky stopped in his tracks, and Steve looked up.

“Hey,” Steve said quietly. “I wasn’t sure what time you’d be home but one of your neighbors let me in.”

Bucky nodded and opened the door, gesturing for Steve to follow him inside. He led Steve through to the living room, and sat in one of the chairs. Steve frowned and sat on the sofa. 

“So what’s been going on with you recently?” Steve asked.

Bucky shrugged. “Just busy, you know?”

“Every time I try to hang out with you? What a coincidence.” Steve laughed harshly. “Look, if there’s someone else, will you just tell me?”

Bucky looked at Steve in surprise. “No, there’s no one else.”

“Then why are you avoiding me? Did I do something?” Steve slid off the sofa onto his knees beside Bucky. “Tell me what I did and I’ll fix it, I swear.”

“You didn’t do anything,” Bucky said with a sigh. 

“So why haven’t you been returning my calls and blowing me off all the time?” Steve scrubbed a hand over his face. “It fucking hurts, Bucky.”

“Why?” Bucky asked angrily. “This was only ever just sex to you, so what difference does it make?”

Steve looked up at him from under those beautiful long eyelashes. “Because somewhere along the way I fell for you, and now it makes all the difference,” he said quietly. 

Bucky swallowed hard. “You… you fell for me?”

Steve looked down. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I know that it probably doesn’t make much difference, but I’m kinda in love with you. I don’t think I realized how much until we stopped hanging out, and then it was like this gaping hole in my life.” He paused, and shook his head. “I’m sorry. You don’t need this. I’ll go.”

He went to stand up, but Bucky grabbed his arm. “You really mean that?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck,” Bucky said with a laugh. “I was only avoiding you because I fell for you too and then you were talking about going on some blind date. You were so blasé about it that I figured you didn’t feel anything for me and I just thought it was best if I didn’t see you anymore.”

Steve looked up at him, expression aghast. “You… you have feelings for me too?”

“I’m kinda madly in love with you, you idiot.”

Steve surged up, capturing Bucky’s lips with his own. “Why didn’t you say something?” he asked at length.

“Because I didn’t think you wanted me.”

Steve cupped Bucky’s cheek in his palm. “How could I not want you? You’re everything.”

Bucky felt as though his heart might burst. He kissed Steve again and again until his lips were nearly numb. 

“I love you,” he murmured against Steve’s lips, and Steve smiled.

“I love you too.”

“Hey, you wanna go to bed and just… sleep?” Bucky asked shyly, and Steve nodded.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

They went through to Bucky’s bedroom and stripped off, before climbing into bed together and wrapping around each other, Steve’s head on Bucky’s chest. 

Bucky kissed the top of Steve’s head. “Sleep well. We’ll talk more when we wake up.”

“Over pizza?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said with a smile. “That sounds perfect.”


End file.
